Taurean Buford sentenced

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Taurean Buford, age 26, of Colchester, Vermont, was sentenced on September 17, 2009 by Chief U.S. District Court Judge, William K. Sessions, III, to 60 months in prison for conspiring to distribute 5 grams or more of cocaine base (crack cocaine) in Vermont between September 7, 2006 and July of 2007. He was also sentenced to 4 years of supervised release.
According to Court records, Buford and his cousin, Richard Hatcher, purchased powder and crack cocaine in Vineland, New Jersey, and sold it in the Burlington area. To facilitate the conspiracy, the two men used a young woman who acted as a courier. The courier traveled to New Jersey by bus or plane carrying large amounts of cash. Once in New Jersey, she was met by Richard Hatcher who drove her to a local motel. Hatcher took the cash and returned with drugs wrapped in cellophane balls covered with duct tape. The courier, carrying the drug-filled balls in her handbag or backpack, would take the bus back to Plattsburg, New York, where she was met by Buford. Then, the drugs were sold in the Burlington, Vermont area by Buford and others.
Buford was arrested on December 5, 2006 pursuant to a complaint. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 22, 2006. On April 5, 2007, he was indicted on a superseding indictment, and on August 23, 2007, he was indicted on a second superseding indictment. Today, September 17, 2009, Buford pled guilty to Count I of an Information charging him with conspiracy to distribute more than 5 grams of crack cocaine between September 7, 2006 to on or about July 26, 2007. The case proceeded directly to sentencing. Richard Hatcher was sentenced, also by Chief Judge Sessions, on August 26, 2009, to ten years in prison for his role in this conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the South Burlington Police Department, the Burlington Police Department, and the DEA with the assistance of New Jersey law enforcement agencies. The United States Attorney, Tristram J. Coffin, commends those agencies for their work. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Conroy, Craig Nolan, Paul Van de Graaf, and Nancy J. Creswell. Buford was represented by Attorney Mark Kaplan.